People clean up debris after an explosion hit Saint Mark's Cathedral in the coastal city of Alexandria, the historic seat of Christendom in Egypt, Sunday, April 9, 2017, killing several people, just after Pope Tawadros II finished services. Bombs tore through two Egyptian churches in different cities as worshippers were marking Palm Sunday, both claimed by the Islamic State group.

SOURCE: (AP Photo/Hazem Gouda)

Heroic police officer prevents bomber from entering Alexandria church

Imad al-Rekaibi is being called a hero for preventing an armed attacker from entering St. Mark's Church

Police officer Imad al-Rekaibi is being called a hero for preventing an armed member of ISIS from entering St. Mark's Church on Palm Sunday, sacrificing his own life in the process.

The suspect, equipped with a vest made of bombs, detonated the device outside the Alexandria church, church official Kamil Sadiq Sawiras told the New York Times on Sunday. A second officer and local police chief Adel El-Rakiby also lost their lives.